OceanGate Faces Federal Investigation One Year After Titan Submersible Explosion

The apparent success of the leaseback arrangement may explain how Rush was able to attract OceanGate’s largest investment of 2020 at a time when the company was trying to replace leasebacks, an expensive task. Titanthe first body he had cracked during testing. $18 million equity financing for OceanGate Titan and proceed with the first Titanic Around this time, documents show that OceanGate may have more control over the acquired property of Cyclops 2 LLC.

But by 2023, OceanGate’s financial situation looked much shakier. Many witnesses at the Coast Guard hearings testified to what they perceived to be financial difficulties in OceanGate’s run-up to the finale. Titanic Expeditions included Rush giving up his salary and occasionally loaning the company money from his personal funds.

Asking for $250,000 Titanic It was observed that diving decreased. As late as May 2023, OceanGate affiliate sellers it was still advertising “some very limited dates and locations are 40% off” for that summer’s expeditions. This has not been reported before.

If the federal investigation results in any criminal charges, it would move forward with the civil case currently being heard in a federal court in Washington state. In this case, the celebrity’s family Titanic explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet He wants 50 million dollars for his death on board TitanThe lawsuit names OceanGate, Rush’s estate, and several other individuals and companies connected to the ill-fated submarine as defendants. Rush’s estate recently filed a motion to dismiss the complaint against him, stating: “As Rush’s employer, OceanGate is liable for Rush’s alleged negligence.”

Maritime lawyer Alton Hall is skeptical that Nargeolet’s family will be able to recover the close to $50 million they are seeking. The Death on the High Seas Act, a 1920 law, generally limits damages to financial losses such as future earnings. Nargeolet and her friend may be an exception. Titan The passengers, whom OceanGate calls “mission specialists,” qualified as seafarers under another piece of legislation called the Jones Act. “There are books and books written about who is a Jones Act sailor and who is not,” Hall says. Passengers who lost their lives on the ship Titan “They are not Jones Act sailors,” he believes.

An unknown question that can be brought up in these cases and again by the families of the two billionaires who died at that time. TitanHe is the person who may face any legal consequences. Defendants in the civil lawsuit against OceanGate and Rush’s estate include OceanGate’s original engineering director, Tony Nissen, and the three companies that manufactured it. Titanbody and field of view. However, numerous witnesses at the Coast Guard hearings testified that Stockton Rush had final say in many business, engineering and operational decisions, and his company is likely bankrupt. In the end, there may be little left to salvage from the wreckage of OceanGate.